The Fracturing of the SOS Brigade
by Cyberbanjo
Summary: The groups observing Haruhi have determined that Kyon's ability to manipulate her makes him a threat. A threat that must be eliminated. Betrayal and deceit plague Kyon as he struggles to stay alive and, even more painfully, find out just who he can really trust.
1. The Uncertainty of Yuki Nagato

_Hey everybody! NaNoWriMo is up, and I've finally had time to make enough progress on this thing to post it. A few quick things; The premise of this fanfic is based on my one-shot _Uncertainty_, (yeah, that makes this chapter title really uncreative. Sue me) so parts of this first chapter will bear resemblance to it, except being told from Kyon's perspective rather than Yuki's. It may or may not match up with _Uncertainty's _ending, so it's not required that you read it, but it's a quick read, so you may want to check it out in my profile if it so interests you. I'm setting this after book 8 of the novel series, so there will be references to events from the books in here, but nothing important. Really, as long as you've seen up to the movie (or read up to book 4), you should be fine as far as spoilers go. Other than that, enjoy!_

* * *

Prologue: The Uncertainty of Yuki Nagato

Well, here I am. My first year at North High School is drawing to a close, and it looks like I may be in for some time to relax. I mean, I've dealt with all of the crazy time travel plaguing July 7th, December 18th and the week leading up to Valentine's Day. Furthermore, the Student Council has failed to disband the SOS Brigade (at least for the moment...) and Koizumi says the number of Closed Spaces popping up have decreased significantly. Yes, all is right with the world.

Yeah, right. If there's one thing I know about Haruhi Suzumiya, she won't let the SOS Brigade rest for long. No, that's just not her style. And, true to form, Haruhi was already cooking up a new plan. A particularly ridiculous one, if I say so myself.

"Hey Kyon!" Haruhi said, poking me in the back. I turned to face the girl who was sitting behind me. What is it now?

"Did you ever watch any of those sentai shows?"

Those kids shows about the monster fighting team with the giant robots and the spandex suits? Yeah, when I was in _primary school_. And that's a bit of a non-sequitur, isn't it? I mean, we're in the middle of class right now! How did sentai shows worm their way into your mind? Shouldn't you be, I don't know, _learning_?

"That doesn't matter!" Haruhi said, brushing my complaint aside. Typical. "Besides, I get good grades, so don't tell me how to behave during class." Well, she's got me there. Not that I would tell her that. "Anyway, I was thinking, there's five members on most sentai teams, and there's five of us in the SOS Brigade, right?"

You've got to be kidding me. Look, the school day's almost over. Could you talk to me about it then?

"I've got cleaning duty today, so I'm going to be a little late to the clubroom."

Oh, right. I almost forgot. Maybe now Koizumi and I could finish that game of Othello in peace...

"Anyways, as I was saying, imagine if we made a sentai team! I would be SOS Red of course, and Mikuru-chan could be SOS Pink. That would leave Yuki to be Yellow, and you and Koizumi-kun could be whatever the other two colors are."

You're not even going to give us colors? You can't possibly be bored already!

"Of course not! But there's more important things to think about! Just imagine it: think of the publicity the SOS Brigade would get then! And who knows? A real-life monster might even show up!"

Sigh. Once Haruhi Suzumiya gets started, there's no stopping her. I guess she saw an episode of whatever the latest sentai show is last night and got inspired. Great, if I can't talk her out of this, it'll be a bigger hassle than the filming of our 'movie.'

* * *

After class, I strolled casually to the clubroom. Sure, Haruhi might have a weird idea in her head right now, but odds are, she'll be bored of it in a day or two. Besides, compared to avoiding a killer classmate or fighting giant cave crickets, putting up with Haruhi's sentai team fantasy wouldn't be that big of a problem. This should still be a relatively easy week.

How wrong I was. I didn't know it yet, but I was about to get dragged into the most dangerous experience I'd ever had. Something that made my experiences on December 18th seem almost fun.

"Yo." I waved, entering the clubroom. Asahina-san was already brewing tea in her angelic maid outfit, while Nagato was reading. Before I could sit down, however, Nagato had approached me. That was different.

"Kyon." She said quietly, as if she didn't want Asahina-san to hear. Asahina-san was busy making tea, so I doubt she did.

Wait a second, did she just call me Kyon? She never does that! "Yeah Nagato?" I muttered back.

"I would like to speak with you after the meeting."

That was surprisingly forward. No note or anything this time? Is something wrong? Something about Haruhi?

Nagato shook her head. "No, it is-" She stopped, staring at me wordlessly, her mouth slightly moving. This wasn't normal.

"Nagato?" She blinked, apparently breaking out of whatever trance she'd been in. "You just stopped talking there. Is something wrong?"

She shook her head again. ""No, it is for... a different reason."

Well... okay, then, I guess. I nodded and moved to my usual seat, but I resolved to keep an eye on her.

* * *

The majority of the meeting passed uneventfully. Haruhi and Koizumi eventually showed up, and Haruhi once again subjected us to her ridiculous superhero team idea. Koizumi of course smiled and said it sounded like fun, but I think I was still able to convince her to sleep on it, at least.

"Well, I guess that's it for today." Haruhi said, gathering her bag. Huh. The brigade meeting ended relatively early today. Normally, we don't leave until Nagato closes her-

_RRRIIIIIIIIIP_

We all started and turned to Nagato, who had ripped the book she'd been reading in half. This wasn't a small book either; It was a thick tome, almost like a phone book! She seemed to notice we were staring at her, because Nagato stammered "M-my apologies. I do not seem to be at my peak at this moment. Please, continue." Wait... Nagato _stammered_? I inadvertently thought of the shy bespectacled Nagato who timidly gave me the Literature Club sign-up form, but I quickly dispelled it. I still sometimes had nightmares about the pleading look on her face as a pointed that gun at her...

"Actually, we just finished up." Haruhi said, rising to her feet. "Weren't you listening, Yuki?"

"It seems she is not feeling well." Koizumi pointed out, displaying his usual smile, but it was clear he was worried. Just _what_ would put Nagato in such a state? "You all can leave and I'll take her home." Obviously he wanted to ask her about it.

However, I too had something I needed to talk to Nagato about, and at her own request. Therefore I said, "Actually I can take Nagato home. I remember where she lives and there was something I need to talk to her about anyway."

Haruhi raised an eyebrow, but shrugged. Sometimes I wonder how this girl who started a brigade to search for unexplained phenomena is so accepting of our lamest lies. "Make sure not to get sick, Yuki!" She commanded. "You're a necessary member of the SOS Brigade and we'll need you at tip-top shape for any situation!"

Just what sort of situations are you planning on getting in?

Haruhi left the room, as did Koizumi and myself. After all, we needed to give Asahina-san the opportunity to change, right? Of course, I probably wouldn't have minded if she decided to wear that maid costume everywhere, but I suppose I'd miss the privilege that is reserved solely for the SOS Brigade.

Once Haruhi was out of earshot, Koizumi turned to me.

"It seems there is something amiss with Nagato-san."

You _think_?

"Okay, okay, there's no need for the attitude. I'm just curious as to why you were so insistent on taking her home yourself."

I'm worried about her. Isn't that enough?

"I don't think that's it. After all, you said you wanted to speak with her about something. If you don't mind me asking, just what do you want to talk to her about?"

Actually, I do mind. You're a very nosey person, you know that?

Koizumi laughed and elegantly ran his hand through his hair. "Yes, well I suppose that comes with the territory, me being an agent of the Organization after all. Besides that, though, I actually am very curious about what was bothering Nagato-san today."

Now, Koizumi is annoying as hell, but I had to concede the point to him. After all, I was very curious as well. "Actually, Nagato is the one who wanted to talk to me after everyone left."

The esper nodded knowingly. "I see. In that case, you should be careful. Remember, Nagato-san is still working for the Data Integration Thought Entity, and therefore we must always be wary of any strange behavior. You especially, after that incident with Ryoko Asakura."

Are you saying we can't trust Nagato of all people?

"Alright, calm down, calm down. I'm just saying that her strange behavior today could be the result of a particularly divisive order she may have received. If you like, I can stay as well in case you need any help. I could remain outside the clubroom so you two could still talk in peace."

Thanks, but no thanks, esper boy. If anything bad happens, you're powerless outside of Closed Space, and Nagato is freaking superhuman. If we can trust her (which we can!), she can protect me, and if we can't... well, you wouldn't be much help anyways.

"Ouch, those are some very hurtful words." Koizumi said, not looking hurt in the least. "I was only joking, of course." He started to leave, but called back over his shoulder. "Tell Nagato-san I hope she makes a full recovery!"

"Yeah, sure." I lied. We can't trust Nagato? Did Koizumi remember anything from December? Nagato has proven time and again that she is trustworthy, while all Koizumi did is make some vague promise back on that snowy mountain. If anyone, he's the one we need to be wary of!

At that point Asahina-san exited the clubroom in her school uniform. She leaned over to me, and softly said, "I'm worried about Nagato-san; She spent the whole time just staring out the clubroom window. Also, she seems worried about something..." Asahina-san trailed off, but I could forgive her for that. After all, I was touched by her concern. Asahina-san is such a saint!

"I see." I responded. "Thank you for letting me know. I'll try to figure out what's troubling her."

Asahina-san left, and I stepped into the clubroom. Nagato turned to face me, holding both of her hands behind her back. I reflexively flashed back to the first time Ryoko Asakura tried to kill me but that thought vanished as soon as it appeared. This is Nagato we're talking about here! So what if she's standing a little differently than usual? "Hey, Nagato, are you all right?"

"I am fine." Nagato said in a monotone. However, it seemed different than her usual emotionless way of speaking. I take pride in my ability to notice shifts in Nagato's mood based on what little she shows, and something was definitely off here.

"You sure? You were looking pretty stressed today."

"I am fine." Nagato repeated. "I wished to speak with you about-"

She stopped again, continuing to move her lips, but not saying anything. This wasn't like those incomprehensible spells she would occasionally use, but rather the action a regular person would perform when speechless. She was looking me straight in the eye like usual, but for the first time, I got the feeling she wasn't actually seeing me. "Nagato?" I asked. She didn't respond."Nagato!" I said again, louder this time. To my surprise, Nagato started to shake, her mouth spewing random gibberish. Okay, something is seriously wrong with her! I grabbed her shoulders and tried to stop the shaking. "Nagato!" I yelled again. To my surprise, she stopped. Nagato blinked once, and I got the impression she was really looking at me again.

Nagato, what happened there? Are you all right?

She continued to stare me directly in the eyes. "I am fine. Now." A heard something clatter to the floor behind her. I looked over the short girl's shoulder and a feeling of cold dread swept over my body. Laying on the floor was a very familiar hunting knife. Just seeing the knife made me think back to the time Ryoko Asakura unsuccessfully assaulted me with an identical one. I also thought back to the time she succeeded. I could still remember the harsh, searing pain in my back...

I released Nagato and stumbled backwards, bumping into the clubroom table rather unceremoniously in the process. "W-what are you doing with that?"

"The Data Integration Thought Entity ordered me to kill you." Nagato explained calmly, causing me to feel a huge pit in my stomach.

It did _what_? Why?

"To observe the reaction the event would have on Haruhi Suzumiya."

The pit got deeper. It was happening again? And if the Entity ordered it, Nagato wouldn't be saving me. In fact, she'd be the one doing the stabbing!

No, wait, that's wrong. Nagato isn't just some puppet or doll. I've learned that many times already. I glanced at the doorframe, absolutely terrified of what I might, or might not see. To my relief, the door was still there. At least she didn't seem to be pulling an Asakura. Nagato, I don't understand... if you were ordered to kill me, why didn't you stab me a few seconds ago, when you had the chance?

"I do not wish for you to die."

And your boss would just be okay with that? I find that hard to believe.

"No. I had to sever all connection with the Data Integration Thought Entity." Her hand darted out quickly and grabbed my wrist. "We must leave."

W-what? What do you mean?

"The Data Integration Thought Entity is already aware of my betrayal. Any humanoid interfaces in the area will converge on my last known location in order to delete me and to terminate you. We need to leave now."

O-okay, I understand. I started to move towards the doorway, but Nagato held my arm tight and moved towards the window instead. Wait, are we gonna jump? Nagato, this is the second story remember? Besides, the window is still closed... I blinked. Wait a second, the glass was missing! When did...?

Nagato lept out of the window, pulling me along after her. She, of course, landed gracefully, almost like a cat, and caught me. She didn't bother to set me down, and just started running. At an inhuman pace, too. In any other situation, I'd be embarrassed that such a small girl was carrying me around like I was a rescued princess from one of those RPGs, but I was far too confused at the moment. Did we _have_ to jump?

"Yes." Nagato said, speeding down the hill I would walk up every morning. I can't imagine what this must look like to any onlooker. Hopefully Taniguchi or Kunikida weren't anywhere nearby to experience this strange phenomena. "There were other humanoid interfaces stationed at North High School." Nagato continued, "There was no guarantee I would be able to get you safely out of the building in any conventional way."

I gulped. This wasn't an average SOS Brigade misadventure. Things were serious, deadly serious. What are we supposed to do when we get to my house? Tell my parents I'm being chased by aliens, and only this short bookish girl could protect me?

"It would be inadvisable to go to your house." Nagato said matter-of-factly. "It would not be safe to return to either of our homes. The Data Integration Thought Entity is already aware of both of those locations. We need to relocate to somewhere it would not initially expect us to be."

"Nagato." I said. She looked at me. "I think I know a place."

* * *

_Ugh... writing in the novels' style is tough. For those of you who have already read _Uncertainty, _this chapter probably wasn't that interesting. Don't worry, the next one will be up in a few days and will actually continue the story. Review please! I love me some reviews!_


	2. The Deception of Itsuki Koizumi

_FYI, there are a couple references to novel 7 in here, but none of them should really hinder your reading experience if you haven't read it yet._

* * *

The Deception of Itsuki Koizumi

Nagato having superhuman speed, it wasn't long before we reached our destination. She stopped in front of the Tsuruya family mansion and set me back down. Good thing too. I can only imagine how much Tsuruya-san would laugh if she saw the tiny Nagato carrying me in her arms.

I rang the doorbell. My cover story this time was much flimsier than the week before Valentine's Day, but I was banking on the fact that Tsuruya-san never asked many questions. Besides, I didn't have many options at this point.

"Kyon-kun? And Yuki-chan? What are you guys doing here?" Tsuruya-san said, opening the door. "And no Haru-nyan, Mikuru-chan or Koizumi-kun either?"

"I'm sorry for bothering you on such short notice, Tsuruya-san," I said. "But... something... has happened, and Nagato and I need a place to stay."

Tsuruya-san cocked her head to the side. "Something happened? Like what?" She looked at me mischievously. "You two aren't eloping are you? Haru-nyan wouldn't like that one bit!" She laughed.

No, we're not eloping! Just like Tsuruya-san to suggest something like that, though. And I suppose my request was strange, even by SOS Brigade standards, but we really need your help, and we have nowhere else to go.

Tsuruya-san must have been able to tell by my tone that something was seriously wrong, because she actually stopped smiling and looked at me seriously. "I see. Well, how long would you need to stay?"

"I don't know. Probably not long." After all, it wouldn't be long before the Data Integration Thought Entity would think to look here, and then we'd have to leave. We probably had a day or two, though, which could give Nagato and I a chance to get our bearings. Either way, Tsuruya-san was kind enough to let us stay that night, and we quickly made our way to the little hut that Asahina-san had spent the week before Valentine's Day in. It was small, for sure, but there were still two beds and some basic supplies, so while it wasn't the most comfortable of living arrangements, we'd probably survive. Probably survive. Heh, with the Data Integration Thought Entity after us, that particular figure of speech seemed to hold a lot more weight. Besides, Tsuruya-san had offered us rooms in her main house, or her guest house (I always seem to forget just how extremely wealthy she is), but Nagato and I needed to stay below the radar, so the hut would be fine. I'm not sure what she told her parents, or if she told them at all, but I made sure to instruct her to tell as few people as possible about this.

That evening, as I was finishing up the meal Tsuruya-san had brought out for us (Nagato had, of course, already eaten her share quickly and automatically), I noticed that Nagato was spending all of her free time staring intently out of the window. I wonder why she wasn't reading, like usual. We still had our book bags with us, after all.

"I rewrote my primary directives." Nagato explained. "Protecting you now takes top priority."

That's all well and good, Nagato, but I don't want to put you in a situation where you are forced stare out of the window continuously in order to protect me. Otherwise, I'd be no better than the Data Integration Thought Entity, who allowed you no freedom and forced you to keep up the same repetitive tasks instead of doing what you want to.

"I want to do it." Nagato said plainly. A pause. "You should sleep."

Sleep? But Nagato, shouldn't we come up with a plan or something? Maybe we should go get Koizumi or Asahina-san.

"There is no guarantee that they can be trusted anymore. If the Data Integration Thought Entity wishes to kill you, it may employ or threaten Mikuru Asahina's or Itsuki Koizumi's respective organizations into aiding it."

But surely we can do something!

"It is getting late." Nagato continued. "The amount of humans on the streets would not be satisfactory in order to remain inconspicuous. It is advisable that we wait until tomorrow before taking any action."

Clearly, there was no arguing with her, so I quickly prepared myself to sleep. I only had my school uniform, so I really didn't do more than remove my blazer and my tie. Either way, I crawled into one of the beds and attempted to sleep as Nagato remained a motionless sentry, like the guards at Buckinham Palace.

The uncertainty I was feeling was scary. It was beginning to remind me of the time I woke up and the entire world had seemed to forget the SOS Brigade had ever existed. Come to think of it, that was probably the only other time I had seen Tsuruya-san act seriously. Sigh... the last thing I needed to think about right now was that particular misadventure. After tossing and turning for some time, I realized Nagato was standing over me.

Yes?

"Sleep." She suggested again.

That's easier said than done, Nagato. My thoughts are a _little_ preoccupied as of late.

"Are you frightened?" She asked.

That was a little blunt for her. Is her separation from the Entity affecting behavior? …And am I frightened? I'm not sure if the situation has sunk in enough for me to be frightened. I can already tell that this is a bigger deal than usual, though, and that is worrying me.

"Understood. Requesting permission the help you sleep."

...Eh?

"Requesting permission to help you sleep."

And _what_ exactly would that entail?

"I would place your body in a state of slow wave sleep so as to recover energy."

I'm not quite sure that's necessary, Nagato. Besides-

"It is necessary. It is unknown when you would be able to recover energy next, therefore steps must be taken now to ensure that you are at your peak."

Okay, but what if something were to happen? Could I wake up?

"I would be able to wake you. "

Okay, now Nagato was starting to sound like she was mothering me. Either way, I doubted I'd be able to get much sleep tonight, so I eventually consented. A few quick alien words from Nagato and I was unconscious.

By now you've probably been wondering about the severe absence of my usual snark. Frankly, it comes from the fact that the weight of the situation is like nothing I'd ever experienced before. Sure, I'd had the world rewritten, and I've experienced fights with giant camel crickets far more firsthand than I would like to admit, but the idea that a superadvanced alien entity wanted me dead, coupled with the hundreds, if not thousands of insanely powerful interfaces hunting me has really put a damper on my goodnatured sarcasm.

I'm not sure how much you know about sleep, but as I've already explained REM in the past, I figure I may as well continue the lesson. While REM sleep is when the brain is most active, and allows the body to strengthen connections in the brain, deep sleep occurs before REM sleep, and allows the body to repair itself and recover energy. Slow wave sleep, or 'deep sleep' is usually classified as occurring during stage 3 and stage 4 of sleep, where the brain is least active. As Nagato sent me immediately into deep sleep, I'm a little curious as to how she bypassed stage 1 and stage 2, but that's probably not the important thing. What's important is that I had a completely dreamless sleep and my memory blacked out until...

"Wake up." Nagato said. My eyes shot open immedietly. As I sat up in the small bed, I glanced at the window. It was still dark.

Something was wrong.

"We need to leave." Nagato continued.

I quickly jumped to my feet and shook all of the sleep from my mind. I grabbed my blazer off of the chair I'd left it on, but I didn't bother putting my tie back on. What was going on?

"Come with me." Nagato completely ignored my questions and opened the door, setting off quickly into the woods near the hut. These were the same mountainside woods where Haruhi had that treasure-hunting expedition of hers… I admit, I was beginning to miss those adventures. They were pretty crazy, but compared to right now, they were absolutely low-key. Trying not to think about it, I followed Nagato, sliding my arms into the blazer's sleeves as I ran.

"Now can you tell me what's going on?" I gasped out as I followed her. "Did your boss find us already?"

"Itsuki Koizumi's Organization has made their move." Nagato espoused. "I detected them entering the premises before I woke you."

Wait, so the Organization is after me too? Why?

"It is likely that the Data Integration Thought Entity threatened them. Outside of the sealed realities Haruhi Suzumiya creates, they do not possess the ability to defeat any humanoid interfaces the Data Integration Thought Entity may potentially threaten them with. Therefore, it can be inferred that the force of espers invading the property have been dispatched to either kill or capture you."

But couldn't they possibly be here to take me to safety? And wait, did you say _force of espers_?

"There are at least twenty-three members of the Organization in the immediate vicinity."

You said you could fight them off, though, right?

"Under ideal conditions, my likelyhood of defeating them would be high. However, when factoring in your safety, as well as the weapons of Data Integration Thought Entity origin that that posses, my chances are a significantly less encouraging."

Before I could ask just what Nagato meant by "weapons of Data Integration Thought Entity origin," she grabbed me and threw me rather painfully behind a bush. Nagato followed almost immedietly, and three dark figures appeared. They were of varying ages; one looked to be about my age, while the other two were adults. Regardless, they were all armed with what looked like pistols. In the glare from their flashlights I couldn't make out any details, but it wasn't hard to deduce what the men wanted. I guess the gods were on my side this time, since, as one of the beams of light was getting dangerously close to our hiding spot, a large branch snapped off in the distance. The sound alerted the men, and they immedietly took off after it.

"Did you do that?" I whispered to Nagato.

She shook her head silently. "Follow me."

I guess if Nagato didn't do it, it must have been a wild animal or something. Either way, it didn't matter. I have no idea how long we ran, but no matter how deep we got into the forest, or how high into the mountain on Tsuruya-san's property we climbed, our pursuers seemed to be hot on our heels. I don't understand it! If they just invaded Tsuruya-san's property, how could they already know we were in the forest?

"Simple logic." Said a familiar voice. Nagato and I stopped in our tracks. In the dark, it was hard to make out at first, but it was soon apparent Koizumi had appeared out nowhere and was now addressing us. "The Organization sent men into the forest the same time Tsuruya-san's property was raided. I must say though, you two are causing quite the huge problem, especially since the Organization is on relatively peaceful terms with the Tsuruyas."

Well sorry for trying to stay alive. And what are you doing here anyway?

"Follow me." Koizumi whispered. "I'm here to help." He quickly led us through the forest, whispering back as he did. "Nagato-san's boss have been putting pressure on the Organization to hunt you and, as they put it, 'rogue interface Yuki Nagato' down. Unfortunately, we don't really posses the firepower to fight back against such an entity, and so my superiors decided to take both of you down as a show of good faith."

Show of good... that's ridiculous! Haruhi might destroy the world!

"We honestly don't have much of a choice." Koizumi shrugged. "The Nagato-san's boss must really want you out of the way, because it has mobilized the majority of its interfaces to either hunt you down or to threaten other factions into doing so as well. Personally, I believe that they are afraid of you and your ability to control Suzumiya-san and want to eliminate you before you can become a threat."

The still doesn't explain how a group of espers would be able to stop Nagato outside of Closed Space. After all, they're powerless outside of it. That'd be like a school of pirhannas attacking a pride of lions on dry land! Maybe in the water they'd have a chance, but outside of it, it just wouldn't work!

"Cute simile." Koizumi muttered. By now we had reached the edge of a large cliff. Just how long had we been climbing? And wait... what did Koizumi just...?

Suddenly, a dozen flashlights illuminated both Nagato and I, as well as Koziumi. This was bad. We were surrounded by espers, and our backs were to the cliff. How did they find us?

"Good work Koizumi." Said a tall man in a business suit. "First letting us know they were at the Tsuruyas' house and then leading them to us? You'll be getting a promotion for this."

Wait, Koizumi! What is he talking about? Koizumi said nothing, reaching into his pocket and draw a handgun that frankly looked like a toy. However, it was nearly identical in design to the dart gun that Nagato had made for me when she changed the world. Now I know what Nagato meant by "weapons of Data Integration Thought Entity origin."

Without a word, Koizumi pointed his handgun at me and fired. There was a flash of bright light, which dispersed to reveal Nagato standing in front of me. Ah, she must have blocked the shot like that time with Asahina-san's Mikuru-bea... Wait a minute. Something was wrong; Nagato was starting to wobble. "Nagato?" I questioned. She tried to turn and face me, but one of her legs gave out, sending her tumbling over the edge of the cliff. "Nagato!" I watched her fall, but when she disappeared under a canopy of trees a long way down, I turned my attention back to Koizumi, who was receiving murmured congratulations from the other espers. "What did you do to her?"

Koizumi flashed his usual smile, but it seemed a lot more threatening now. "That's an easy one; I killed her."

I felt sick. Nagato dead? And Koizumi did it? No... that... that wasn't possible.

"Oh it's very possible." Koizumi said, slowly advancing on me with the strange alien weapon, forcing me back perilously close to the edge. "The Data Integration Thought Entity gave us these. They are able to both permanently deactivate humanoid interfaces as well as instantly stop the heart of any human being. I figured I wouldn't be able to hit Nagato-san in an ordinary situation, but banked on the fact she would jump in front of it in a misguided attempt to save you."

I clenched my fists. The utter pretension in his voice was infuriating. "Koizumi... you bastard! We trusted you! Haruhi trusted you! Don't you remember what you told us on that snowy mountain back in winter? You said we could rely on you!"

Koizumi laughed coolly. Damn him... I could deal with Asakura, I could deal with the Sneering Bastard, but I don't know if I could deal with this. "Of course I remember." He said with his fake-as-hell smile. "But my goal was to make you trust me, remember? I'd say anything I had to. Of course, even then you didn't _really_ trust me, did you? After all, don't you remember our conversation at school today?"

I couldn't think straight. I would never admit it to his face directly, but I _had_ trusted Koizumi. He was a member of the SOS Brigade. All those days he spend playing games with us in the club room... and all of those strange favors he'd call in for us... were they all just to gain our trust? So he could spy on us?

The traitorous esper ran his hands through his hair. "Basically. My orders were to become your friend, so I did. Now my orders are to kill you, so I will." He leveled his pistol at me.

"Then what the hell are you waiting for?" I countered. "You could have shot me any time after Nagato!" Thinking about her laying dead and broken at the bottom of the cliff terrified me, but I had already given up hope. Nagato was gone, and I highly doubted my future self was going to appear and beat down the dozen or so espers encircling me. "What was the point of telling me all of this?"

Koizumi dropped the smile and scowled. I'd never seen him do _that_ before. "I've had to keep that smiling mask up for so long, I wanted an opportunity to finally show my true self. It's been so long." He started to laugh, but not his usual calm laugh. It was a little crazy... and very bitter. "I've been making this face for so long, I don't even know if I even _can_ truly smile anymore!"

How tragic. If you hadn't just murdered my friend, I might actually pity you a bit.

Koizumi glared at me. These expressions looked weird on him, like it wasn't really him. Of course, a little voice in the back of my head pointed out that it was more likely I'd never seen the true Itsuki Koizumi before now. "Ah yes, Kyon's classic wit. I was waiting for that to show up." I expected him to continue the retort. Instead, the muzzle of his gun flashed and I found myself unable to move as a bolt of lightning arced across the air and struck me in the chest.

As I fell backwards over the cliff, I dimly realized that it was over. If by some miracle the gun didn't kill me, the fall would. I was dead. And then everything went black.

* * *

_Huh. There were more references to novel 7 than I was expecting. Ah well, nothing too major, right? Review please!_


	3. The Disappearance of Mikuru Asahina

The Disappearance of Mikuru Asahina

Remember my earlier talk about dreams? Yeah? Well, the good news is that it seems I wasn't dead after all. In fact, the first thing that tipped me off was a painful recurring dream of mine about the alternate Nagato. They were always a little different, with this one being one of the worst. I'll spare you the details, but the extent of it is the real Nagato never showed up to rescue me from Asakura, who made short work of me, the older Asahina-san, and the alternate Nagato herself.

Yeah, it wasn't a good dream.

It should almost go without saying, but upon waking, I sat bolt upright. Huh. It was morning and I was still in the forest outside of Tsuruya-san's house, but I couldn't even see the cliff I'd fallen off of. Instead, I was sitting in a small clearing somewhere else in the woods. I could still see the mountain, so I couldn't have gone far, but there's no way falling from a cliff would get me here. I was still wearing my school uniform, save for my tie, which reaffirmed that what happened last night had not been a dream. Someone must have moved me... but who... and for what reason? The older Asahina-san? She was really the only one I could think of, now that Koizumi and Nagato were either against me or... dead. Before I had time to reflect on the horrible situation I was in, Koizumi himself walked into the clearing, his old smile on his face. For a second I felt like I was back in the clubroom, or on some SOS Brigade retreat, but that feeling was almost immedietly replaced by confusion... and rage.

"Ah, you're awake." Koizumi began. "Good, I was hoping you'd awaken before I had to-urk!" I was upon him. Unable to think straight, all I could managed to do was bring my fist into the air and begin pounding on Koizumi's face before he could keep speaking. I'll admit, I've wanted to hit Koizumi many times in the past already, and in light of current events, I held nothing back.

Koizumi, you bastard! No... that word's too good for you. You're a goddamn traitor! Don't you dare try to hide behind that mask, not after what to did to me and Nagato! I may not have completely trusted you, but I never thought _murder_ was acceptable for you!

"Murder?" Koizumi managed to choke out in between my punches. "Kyon... look." He pointed behind me. Keeping one hand on his collar, I shot a glance over my shoulder. What I saw made me drop the esper, who fell to the ground, coughing.

Nagato stood there, staring at me with her unblinking eyes.

What? I don't... I don't understand.

"It was an act, Kyon." Koizumi said, wiping blood from his mouth and slowly getting to his feet. He looked at me sadly. It was clear he was in a lot of pain. Well, good. I wanted an explanation before I could even consider forgiving him. "A game, if you will, like that time on the remote island. I faked your deaths... to buy you time." Big words. Let's see some proof. "I came to Nagato-san before the Organization made its move and had her modify the weapon they'd given me." He adjusted his hair that had fallen into his face and then started smiling again, albiet much more weakly than before.

Stop with that damn mask, Koizumi!

He grimaced. "Fine. I suppose it would be an insult to what I put you through." His face adopted a serious expression. "As I was saying, Nagato-san modified the weapon. Instead of killing either of you, it would produce temporary unconsciousness. After leading you to the cliff where the others were in order to create witnesses, I shot Nagato-san first. The fall would probably have been fatal to you, so Nagato-san and I agreed beforehand that she would jump in the way of my shot. It had to look real, of course."

I looked over at Nagato. Was this true? She nodded. Okay, but what if any of the others shot first?

"That was a gamble." Koizumi allowed. "But there weren't really any other options anyway. I was banking on the fact that they would want to test my loyalty." He adopted the same scowl as last night. "Which is why I let some of my old self show through. "

Old self?

"To tell the truth, I used to be a rather angry person." Koizumi admitted, dropping the scowl and making a more neutral expression. "Some of what I said was true. Playing the part of the SOS Brigade Vice Commander has... calmed me down. Nowadays, I am actually a lot more like how I act in the SOS Brigade than how I pretended to be last night."

As much as I didn't want to believe him, the possibility was there. After all, hadn't the Student Council President started to go through a similar transformation? And if Koizumi had been playing the role for longer...

"Okay, but if you needed to make sure you were the one to shoot me, why didn't you just do it quickly? Why drag it out like that?" I asked.

"I had to give Nagato-san as much time as possible to reactivate." He explained. "If she didn't catch you after you fell, then you probably would have died and this would have been for nothing."

But what about our bodies? Surely the Organization will want to recover our corpses, right?

"Ah yes, that." Koizumi nodded. "Luckily, the operation ended up occurring so close to daybreak that they didn't want to risk being seen. They will be trying to find your bodies tonight, but this should give you enough time to formulate a plan.

What do you mean 'you'? What are you going to be doing?

"Unfortunately, I need to keep up appearances, which means I still need to go to school." I then realized that he was wearing his school uniform. In my rage, I guess I hadn't noticed. "Speaking of which, Nagato-san, I was wondering if you could possibly heal my face." He smiled a bit and winced. His cheeks were already starting to swell and his mouth was still bleeding. It even looked like he had the start of a black eye. For a second, I thought I might have gone little overboard, but then again, after Koizumi's horrible deception...

Nagato looked at me questioningly. Yeah, go ahead and heal him, I guess.

She walked up to him and placed both hands on his face. You know, if anyone else was around, they probably would have taken it the wrong way. Small sparks came from her fingertips and danced across the teenage esper's face. Seconds later, he was back to his usual handsome self. He nodded and thanked her, but he never got that fake grin I was so used to seeing on him. Good.

"Before I go, there's one more thing I should do." Koizumi said, drawing the, by now, familiar gun he'd fired at me. I must have involuntarily flinched because he turned it around and handed it to me, handle first. "The Data Integration Thought Entity must not have wanted the Organization be be able to use these against them, because as soon as we relayed the fact I 'killed' you to my superiors, all of the weapons the gave us broke down. Aside from this one. I'm assuming Nagato-san's tampering was behind it."

Okay, but why are you giving it to me?

"I needed to get rid of it, and I thought a weapon you could use against humanoid interfaces would be of use to you." Koizumi said with a shrug. As he turned to leave, he looked back over his shoulder. "By the way, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about what I was doing. I thought your reactions would make it more believable."

I grunted. I was grateful for not getting killed, but I was pretty sure it would be a long time before I could find myself trusting Koizumi again.

"Oh, and one other thing." Koizumi said. "Assuming you didn't lose it, don't answer your cell phone. I'm pretty sure Nagato-san's bosses found a way to tap it long ago." He left the clearing. "I'll be back after school!" The esper called back to us.

I pocketed the gun in my blazer and, just to check, reached my hand into my pants pocket. My phone wasn't there. I must have left it a Tsuruya-san's house.

Tsuruya-san. Uh-oh. Just what was she going to think about Nagato and I vanishing? It's not like I could go explain the situation to her now, especially since her family seemed to have some sort of connection to Koizumi's Organizaiton. Sigh. This whole thing was so troublesome.

Honestly, the rest of the day passed pretty uneventfully. We couldn't really go into town (and really, where would we even go?) so we just waited around for Koizumi to get back from school so we could discuss what to do next. Nagato was completely devoid of any plan aside from protecting me, which was nice and all, but I felt a bit like John Conner. Why should _I _be the one calling the shots? Espionage between two super-powered organizations was not my speciality. I really had no idea where to go from here. The thought of using my trump-card crossed my mind, but I decided to wait and see what Koizumi had to say first.

After an agonizingly dull day (punctuated by surges of fear every time I heard a tree branch snap), Koizumi finally showed up. Despite his untrustworthiness, it was nice to have someone I could actually talk to. I appreciate Nagato for everything she did for me, but idle conversation to pass the time was not one of her strong suits.

"Sorry I'm late." He apologized, entering the clearing still in full uniform. He was smiling again. Clearly a hard habit for him to break. Whatever. I'd had time to cool down as the day went on. "I had to make sure I wasn't being followed. I left the Brigade meeting as early as possible, but I was worried about leaving Suzumiya-san alone in her current state."

Well, as long as you weren't follow— wait, _alone_? What about Asahina-san?

Koizumi's smile faltered for a second. "Oh, yes." He reached into his pocket and drew out a handwritten note on pink stationary. "This was in my shoe locker." He handed it to me. "It seems Asahina-san knew she'd have to give it to me to make sure you received it."

_Dear Kyon, _it read.

_I'm so sorry I'm not able to tell you this face to face, but my superiors didn't give me a choice. I have been ordered to return to the future, because [CLASSIFIED INFORMATION], oh darn it. _It looked like she'd tried to scratch out the obvious censorship, but it had only been moderately effective as she'd written the note in pen, so she settled for expressing her annoyance with a 'darn.' I couldn't help but imagine how cute she would be saying that. _I just wanted to thank you for everything you've done. I feel like all the help you've given me has made me a stronger person, if only a little, and I'm going to miss you_ _terribly. I wish I could have told you all this in person, but my superiors insisted I leave right away. I… _She'd written something else, but she'd completely obliterated it by scribbling over it so much that it was completely illegible. …_ wish I could have stayed with you and the SOS Brigade longer._

_Goodbye,_

_-Mikuru_

I felt a lump in my throat. The angelic Asahina-san was _gone?_ Just like that? After everything we'd been through together, after all of our jumps through time, and after happily making tea for the Brigade every day after school… she was just gone, almost as if she'd never existed. This entire thing felt surreal. In less than a day, the SOS Brigade had completely fallen apart. Wait a second, is this what you meant by Haruhi's 'current state?'

Koizumi nodded grimly. "Indeed. Suzumiya-san was not happy to find that Nagato-san, Asahina-san, and more specifically, _you _failed to arrive at the clubroom today."

Probably the understatement of the century.

"I could tell that she did not want me to leave her as well, but I was able to convince her that I had an important family issue to take care of." Koizumi continued. "She… did not take it very well, to say the least."

Despite everything, I couldn't help but be a little amused. _You_ made Haruhi mad?

Koizumi smiled weakly. "Desperate times call for desperate measures, I suppose. I must say, it was incredibly frightening. I have no idea how you're able to do it on a daily basis."

I guess I'm just that good. "So what is Haruhi up to now?" I asked.

"She's trying to figure out where everyone went to." Koizumi explained. "When I left, she was making phone calls to anyone she thought might have information on you three. She even ordered me to return later tonight to plan a search party if she didn't succeed in finding you." He shrugged elegantly. "Oh well, I suppose it's better than dealing with all of the Closed Spaces that started popping up once she realized you were missing."

Okay then. I know what I have to do.

"And what is that?"

I'm going to use my trump card. _I am John Smith._

"…" Nagato was staring at me more intensely than I'd seen in a long while.

Koizumi's expression faltered, but only for a second. It seemed like he was expecting I would suggest it, but was hoping against it. "I thought you might say that. As I said, my loyalty is to the SOS Brigade, and I will follow you if that's what you think is best, but I want to make sure you understand the full implications of what you're suggesting. Are you sure now is the best time to—"

"If now isn't the best time, then _when _is?" I countered. "Nagato's bosses want both of us dead, and they are willing to do just about anything to make sure that happens. There is too much going on for us to fix this on our own, especially since it looks like we can't rely on your Organization _or _Asahina-san's bosses. The only thing we have now is Haruhi."

Koizumi still looked apprehensive, but he nodded. "Yes, I suppose you're right." He conceded, before reaching into his bookbag. "But before we do anything drastic, the first thing we should do is get you two somewhere safer than these woods. Here," He said, handing both Nagato and I some clothes. "I've brought some disguises."

Wait a second, wouldn't it be better to get to Haruhi as soon as possible?

"Normally, I'd agree." Koizumi said, "But Suzumiya-san is at North High right now, which is under close watch by both the Data Integration Thought Entity and the Organization. It would be much safer if I could lead Suzumiya-san to you while 'searching' for you."

"Okay." I agreed. I noticed that by now that twilight was fast approaching. Assuming the Organization would return to the woods by sundown, we needed to get out of here quickly.

After donning Koizumi's disguises (which weren't very good, by the way) the three of us made our way back into Nishinomiya. I'd never felt so stressed in the middle of a public place before. I was dressed in some of Koizumi's spare clothes, while Nagato simply had a large jacket on over her school uniform. We both wore hats, but I still felt like this wouldn't be enough to obscure us from any humanoid interfaces that might spot us. It was rather striking how few resources Koizumi had now that he was acting against the Organization.

Hold on. How do I know you're not leading me into a trap?

"You don't" Koizumi said quietly, clearly trying to avoid drawing attention to himself. "But it would have been pretty pointless for me to spend all this time and effort protecting you from the Organization just to lead you to a tra—"

"Koizumi?" Why had he just cut off like that? I turned to look at him but frighteningly, Koizumi had vanished. In fact _everyone _was gone. I looked around frantically. Had I somehow walked into Closed Space?

But then I saw someone. Standing ominously in the middle of the street was a girl. Even from the distance I could make out her North High uniform and deceptively innocent smile.

_No….Not her._

"Hello Kyon." The girl said, still smiling as the twilight illuminated her in a sickeningly familiar way. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?" I felt a gigantic pit in my stomach.

_Please, anyone but __**her**__._

I was alone with Ryoko Asakura.

* * *

_Woo! I guess I just love me some cliffhangers. _

_Meh, not that happy with this chapter, I'll admit. Still, I'd appreciate any reviews. Next chapter is coming soon, and it should be pretty interesting!_


	4. The Resolution of Kyon

_Hey everyone! I hope you can forgive the slight delay on this chapter, but as you'll see, this chapter is a bit longer than the rest, which took a little extra time._

* * *

The Resolution of Kyon

Why was it _always _her? I turned to run. Sure, it might have been futile, but I had to take any chance I had of escaping **her.** To my horror, the sidewalk just seemed to cut off before a large void. This was just like the time she took over the classroom. If that was the case, I didn't know how I could hope to escape. I started to look around, looking for a weapon. I wasn't sure how effective it would be, but it was better than doing nothing.

Suddenly, something occurred to me. I still had that pistol Koizumi gave me! I wasn't sure how I'd be able to hit her with it, but it still was my best bet at the moment. In any other situation, I'd comment about the _literal _Chekhov's Gun, but I was a little busy at the moment. I jammed my hand into my jacket pocket and managed to grab the handle before…

"Ah-ah-ah." Asakura tisked, and I felt my entire body freeze up. She certainly wasn't beating around the bush this time.

"How are you still alive?" I managed to grunt out. Huh. I'd always wondered why magically paralyzing someone in… well, _everything,_ usually left them able to speak. I mean, shouldn't the muscles that control my mouth and vocal cords be frozen too? Whatever. "Nagato deleted you!"

She giggled sweetly. Ugh. The most innocent sounds in the world would sound sinister and calculated coming from her mouth. "The Data Integration Thought Entity never completely erases anything." She explained, causally strolling into my field of vision. In her hand she held that familiar hunting knife. Crap. "We are transferred to data and stored for any potential event in the future where we may be needed."

Great, so it sounds like the Entity never empties its recycle bin. I _really _wish it was more willing to part with the clearly insane files.

She giggled again. "It turns out I was right after all this time." She brought her hand back, the knife poised to strike. "This must be the feeling you humans refer to as satisfaction."

She thrust it forward and I prepared for the inevitable. She'd _kindly _left me control of my eyelids, so I screwed them shut, expecting to feel the familiar sharp pain of her dagger piercing my flesh.

But the pain never came. I cautiously opened my eyes, seeing the blade inches from my face. Really? She couldn't at least do my the dignity of stabbing me somewhere less gruesome? But I digress. The knife wasn't moving because someone was holding it in one hand.

Nagato.

Yes, this was the third time this had happened to me, but it never failed to surprise me every time. Nagato had made it inside Asakura's sealed reality. There was a chance now.

"Nagato-san." Asakura said, still not failing to smile. "I didn't expect you to be able to find your way in here so quickly. You've improved, even after disconnecting from the Entity."

"…"

"But it doesn't matter." Asakura continued. "I was going to delete you after dealing with Kyon anyway. After all…" She still seemed to be smiling sweetly, but I felt like I could sense some malice behind it this time. But maybe that's just because I've spent so much time noticing Nagato's tiny shifts in expression. "Interfaces that stop following their orders must be deleted, right?"

She wrenched the knife from Nagato's hand, drawing quite a bit of blood in the process. Nagato struck out at Asakura, but the girl lept back before throwing a flurry of colored lights at the two of us. Nagato stepped in front of me and blocked the attacks. "Stay behind me." She commanded, grabbing my collar and throwing me to the ground. You could almost taste the deja vu.

Now was clearly _not_ the time for reminiscing, however. The void surrounding us the area of street that had seemingly been cut out of the real world had shifted to a multicolored pattern, probably due to Asakura's attacks on Nagato. As they continued to fling balls of energy at one another, one managed to graze Nagato, causing her jacket to burst into flames. Nagato paid it no heed, sprinting nimbly towards Asakura as Koizumi's jacket fell apart and the hat was blasted off by a gust of wind. Now the two of them were fighting in their school uniforms, and I couldn't help but think back to the first time…

Damn it! I said no reminiscing!

"Impressive." Asakura observed, barely avoiding one of Nagato's attacks. "You always were quite skilled, Nagato-san. It's too bad disconnecting from the Entity has weakened you so. You won't be able to protect Kyon forever." Why does _she _have to be the talkative one?

As if to punctuate her point, Asakura threw her knife at me. (And I'd just stood back up, too!) My brain had barely registered the attack before Nagato was standing in front of me, the knife embedded in her forehead and still quivering from the force of the throw. In true Nagato fashion, she calmly removed it and dropped weapon to the ground.

"I will not allow you to harm him."

Asakura giggled again. I didn't think it was possible, but by becoming so cocky, Asakura had managed to become even more infuriating than before. "Oh Nagato-san. You don't have a choice in the matter. This time, _I'm _the one with the Entity's backing. You cannot stop me. After all, it seems like you're just about at your limit. Am I right?"

Was that true? If that was the case, we might be pretty screwed.

"…" Nagato said nothing, instead throwing her arms toward Asakura. Her hands turned into long white blades of light, which impaled the girl and lifted her into the air.

"My, my. This is familiar." Asakura said, placing her hand on one of the blades protruding from her chest. "Like you said last time, it's over." Wait a second… did Nagato win? Oh no… she wasn't going to— "Commencing termination of data link"

Horribly, Nagato's hand/blades started to dissipate into what almost looked like glowing white sand. This was exactly what happened when Nagato deleted Asakura the first time. And that meant…

_Oh no._

"Don't worry Kyon." Asakura said cheerfully. "Once Nagato releases me, I'll be sure to get to you next."

_No, no, no! _It wasn't supposed to go this way! I'd promised I wasn't going to let Nagato bear the brunt of our suffering in secret, and now she was being deleted because I was too weak to help her…

I had to stop Asakura, I thought frantically. But how? Then I realized that I still had the alien gun and Asakura was still impaled by Nagato, although not for much longer, judging from her rate of deterioration. I drew the gun as quickly as I could, took as careful aim as I could in the short amount of time and pulled the trigger. A bolt of lightning shot at Asakura, who might have even looked surprised for a moment before it hit her. Unable to dodge, she was struck by it and went limp. Okay, that bought me some time….

Frustratingly, we still seemed to be in Asakura's personal chunk of reality, and Nagato was still slowly disintegrating. Damn… I'd really hoped that deactivating Asakura would be enough to reverse the deletion…

Wasting no time, Nagato made her way to Asakura, who had fallen to the floor once Nagato's hand/blades vanished. She knelt down and placed her arm, which was still mostly intact, on Asakura's side and said a few words in her alien language. Just like that, Asakura began to disintegrate, and the area around us began to slowly return itself to normal.

Nagato then made her way over to me, making it just before her feet started to come apart into the white particles. Not that that meant much, considering she was still hovering there as if she was standing. Huh. She seemed to be deleting a lot slower than Asakura…

"That is because I wish to communicate data to you before I am deleted." She explained. "All processes are applied to simultaneously repairing the damaged data in the area while retaining solidity for as much time as possible."

Isn't there something I can do to save you?

She shook her head. "Once the deletion process has begun, only another interface can reverse it."

Crap. "Nagato… I'm so sorry."

She stared at me. "…"

I told myself that I refused to let you keep suffering for the rest of the brigade, but I couldn't even do that. And now you're being deleted because you were protecting me… I'll admit, I was tearing up at this point. Yeah, go ahead and laugh if you want.

"…I would not classify my time in proximity to you as 'suffering.'" Nagato said softly. "It… is difficult to find appropriate words. My time with you was… enjoyable. I disconnected from the Data Integration Thought Entity because I feared harm to you more than I did deletion."

Nagato…

"You made my assignment worthwhile." She continued. It might have been just me, but her eyes seemed shinier than before. Could she be tearing up as well? "I would perform any task to keep you safe, even if it meant it was necessary for me to experience the endless recursion of time again."

Oh God…. I couldn't keep it in at that point. I grabbed Nagato in the tightest hug I could as tears flowed down my face. I'd almost forgotten how small she was. It was strange that a humanoid interface felt so… fragile in my arms. Nagato… thank you for everything you've done for me. I don't think I've ever told you that, have I? All the protection… all the help… not to mention the altered world you made with me in mind… I never thanked you for any of that. Well not anymore. Thank you, Yuki Nagato.

I judging from her shoulder movements, I could have sworn she tried to hug me back, but her arms were already gone so maybe I just imagined it. By this point, only Nagato's head and torso remained. This couldn't be happening… There had to be something I could do…

Wait a second! There _was. _"We're going to get you back, Nagato."

"…"

I broke from the hug, instead putting my hands on her shoulders and staring intensely at her. "Asakura said that when an interface is deleted, they are just put into storage, right?"

"Correct."

Well don't forget what I said to you on the roof of the hospital. If your bosses try to get rid of you, I'll just have Haruhi pull you back! I am John Smith, remember?

"…"

I hugged her one more time. "This isn't goodbye. I'm going to bring you back if it's the last thing I do, okay?"

"Understood." At this point, Nagato's body must have finally reached its limit. I felt her vanish from beneath my arms, but not before hearing her say quietly, almost in a whisper, "Thank you, Kyon."

* * *

"Kyon?" It was Koizumi. In her last act, Nagato had returned me to the street.

…

"I was worried when you just vanished into thin air like that until Nagato-san said she was going after you. Speaking of which, where is she?"

She's gone, Koizumi.

"Gone? What do you mean?"

"What does it sound like?" I yelled at him, before composing myself and wiped my eyes dry of any remaining tears. A couple people on the street glanced at me oddly, but kept moving. I guess no one had noticed my reappearance. I needed to stay under the radar if there was to be any hope of rescuing Nagato. Still, witnessing Nagato get deleted, especially in order to protect me, had shaken me to my core and it was harder than I'd like to admit to calm down. "Asakura… she deleted Nagato."

Koizumi arched his eyebrows with worry. "Ryoko Asakura is back?"

Not anymore. Nagato managed to delete her too before she vanished completely.

Koizumi sighed softly and put a hand on my shoulder compassionately. "That's very sad to hear. Still, it's good to know that she managed to neutralize Asakura in the process."

Don't touch me. And how dare you act so nonchalant about this!

"Just because _you've_ seen through my disguise doesn't mean that I can just bear my heart on the street." Koizumi said, keeping his voice low. "The priority now is getting you to safety. You've already threatened Nagato-san's bosses in the past that if this were to happen, you would get Suzumiya-san to fix it. Suzumiya-san can get Nagato-san and maybe even Asahina-san back, but only if _you're _still alive to convince her."

And once again, Koizumi was right. I hate it when he's right. "…Fine. Where's this safe-house of yours?"

* * *

It wasn't long before we made it to Koizumi's safe-house, an apartment he had apparently been renting out of his own pocket with an alias for a few months now. What prompted him to get this?

"When I pledged my loyalty to the SOS Brigade, I figured I should get a spare place just in case something like this was to happen." Koizumi explained, searching his pockets for his key. He stopped for a second to sniff the air. What was that for? We were in a pretty shabby apartment complex, and I guessed I couldn't really expect him to be able to afford a high-class apartment on his own, especially if he wanted to keep it secret from the Organization, but it wasn't like this place _literally _stank. "It's nothing. Ah. Here we are."

He unlocked the door and swung it inwards. In another situation, I would comment on its size (although, to be fair, I was actually getting a room, unlike some of those business hotels I'd seen that look more like animal kennels), but I was more preoccupied with the long-haired beautiful older woman standing in the center of the room.

Asahina-san. The older one.

"Kyon," Koizumi cautioned as I stepped through the door frame, but I paid him no heed. After all, what was there to fear from _any_ version of Asahina-san?

"Hello Kyon, Koizumi." Asahina-san said, with a very subdued smile. Her hands were clasped behind her back, giving me quite the wonderful view of her… erm…. assets. I'd tell you that I was a big enough man to not give them a look, but you wouldn't really believe me, would you? "How are you?"

About as good as could be expected. That is to say, not very good at all. Still, it's comforting to get to see you again, Asahina-san. After your younger self vanished, I wasn't sure I'd ever get to see you again.

She suddenly looked sad. "Ah yes, I'm very sorry that had to happen. I remember being very crushed when it happened to me." She averted her eyes. "Still, compared to what we're going to have to do next, that pain was nothing."

What we're going to have to do next? Let me guess, we're about to do some time traveling, right? Some particularly stressful time traveling from the sound of it too.

She shook her head and somehow managed to look even sadder. I swear, whoever was causing her this emotional trouble, I'm gonna beat them to a pulp! "There's no time travel this time."

So a message then? Or maybe some weird task I have to complete to ensure future events?

She sighed. "Something like the second one." She really seemed to be internally struggling with something.

"Kyon!" Koizumi said, a _lot _more urgently this time.

_What? _Can't you see that I'm—

Lined up against the back wall were three men and a woman, all in black suits. When Koizumi finally entered the room, they closed the door behind him and were now blocking our exit. My eyes widened in horror and I quickly swiveled back to Asahina-san to demand and explanation, but the words died in my throat. Asahina-san was pointing a gun at me. Not one of the alien weapons that could potentially be modified, but an honest-to-goodness _pistol_. If she wasn't a time traveler, I would wonder how she was able to get such a weapon in the first place. Gun laws are pretty strict, you know.

No… She didn't…. Not Asahina-san…

"I really don't want to do this." Asahina-san said, but she seemed resolute. "But this is a predetermined event. I can't let my personal desires get in the way."

I couldn't believe this. After everything that had happened, was it really my fate to be gunned down in this shoddy apartment? And by _Asahina-san _of all people? I found myself unable to move, but not by fear. With everything that had happened to me since last night, I think my body had finally reached its limit. I'd been betrayed, attacked twice, witnessed Nagato's deletion and even came back from the "dead…" I could only be surprised so many times before these cruel events just became commonplace.

Fine then. I'm done. Just get it over with already.

"Kyon! Close your eyes and take my hand!" Koizumi shouted from my side, breaking me out of my stupor. Without thinking, I complied with his command. I heard confused shouting and gunshots before I was suddenly met with silence.

I slowly opened my eyes. We were still in the same apartment as before, but Asahina-san was gone. In fact, _everyone _aside from Koizumi and myself had vanished. That wasn't all, either. I quick look out the window confirmed my suspicion. I now realized what Koizumi had noticed when he seemed to sniff the air earlier. It had been close to night before, but now the entire sky looked like it was covered by a giant shade that obscured even the stars. There wasn't a soul to be seen on the streets either, and there wasn't a single light coming from any of the buildings.

Yes, I was in Closed Space. Not hard to guess, right?

Still, I hadn't been here in quite a while. This was only my third time in Closed Space, with my first two being nearly a year ago, so naturally it was still unsettling to be back inside the darkened world. I quickly looked around for any of those blue giants — what did Koizumi call them? Shinjin? Something like that. I breathed a sigh of relief. We were safe. For now, anyway.

"You can let go of my hand now." Koizumi said, displaying his old elegant smile.

I did so with a grimace. Okay, that was pretty embarrassing. I'm just feeling off my game is all, after all, Asahina-san, my beautiful angel, just tried to kill us. Not to mention, Nagato…

"It's alright." Koizumi said, sympathetically putting a hand on my shoulder for the second time today. For once, his kind smile didn't look faked. "We're going to get Nagato-san back. You promised her, remember."

"Y-yeah." I muttered. Okay, maybe not the most articulate I've ever been, but the twofer of forgetting to let go of Koizumi's hand and the fact that _he _of all people just needed to reassure me was pretty pathetic. I'm clearly starting to lose it. If we don't fix all of this soon, I don't know what I might do.

Sigh. I need a vacation.

"Anyway," Koizumi began. "It's no longer safe for us to wait. I feel our best opportunity is to get you to North High _now. _My abilities in here will save us a lot of time in getting there."

Yeah, I agree. I just want this nightmare to be over already!

"Well then we should get going. If we wait too long, Suzumiya-san may leave school, not to mention the possibility that Mikuru Asahina's organization figures out what we're up to and gets people to wait for us outside the exit."

"Right." I responded, trying not the think about the fact that _time travelers _of all people probably knew what we were going to do anyway. Koizumi likewise didn't bring it up. Instead, he calmly opened the window before a red circular aura surrounded his body. Hovering in the air, he grabbed me underneath my armpits and set out flying in the direction of North High. While we moved through the air, I couldn't shake the feeling of impending doom that came along with going up against the Data Integration Thought Entity, the Organization _and_ a group of time travelers. I'm sure Koizumi felt it as well, but he kept silent.

It's appropriate that _this _was the feeling that preceded everything going wrong — again.

With no prior warning, I spotted in my peripheral vision what looked like a miniature sun hurtling right at us! Koi—

"I see it!" Koizumi responded before I could even finish a single word. He swerved to the side, jostling me pretty badly, but thankfully not dropping me.

What the hell _was _that?

"A concentrated ball of ESP." Koizumi explained quickly.

Hold on. ESP stands for Extrasensory Perception. You can't have a concentrated ball of—wait a second. _What _did you just say?

"This was a trap. There are other espers here." He said, surprisingly calm but certainly not smiling as dozens of people in flying red spheres surrounded us. Most of them were boys about Koizumi's age, but there were also some girls. Most were in wildly different school uniforms, but there were also some adults there as well. "I had been wondering why such a large Closed Space hadn't been dealt with yet. I suppose we're just lucky no Shinjin have shown up yet." Koizumi continued nonchalantly.

As if on cue, we heard a loud crash as a giant amorphous, but vaguely humanoid, blue creature appeared and completely demolished a large building. Great. Just what we needed.

"Actually, it is." Koizumi said.

Come again?

"The Organization can't just leave one of the Shinjin wrecking havoc." He explained quietly. "They'll have to split their numbers to deal with both of us."

Sure enough, a large number group surrounding us veered off and flew towards the creature. Okay, but we're still hopelessly outmatched! Speaking of which, why haven't they just fried us yet? Not that I'm complaining, of course…

"Itsuki Koizumi." Called a voice from one the red spheres. This one had a comparatively older man in it. "You have lied to us."

"Did I?" Koizumi asked with his usual smile. Great. Now he's mocking them.

"You lied about killing that boy that you're holding right there!" He spat back. "Not only did you not follow your orders, but you actively conspired a way to fake his death. You are a traitor to our Organization."

"Maybe I am!" Koizumi yelled back. Huh. This was the most impassioned I'd ever seen him. More evidence of him dropping his act? "But the Organization has betrayed the entire human race, siding with a group of aliens!"

"Silence!" The man yelled back. "Our actions are in order to protect the human race. Can you imagine what would happen if one of those 'Interfaces' went rogue? Luckily, it seems the last one was already dealt with."

I felt Koizumi's grip on my arms tighten. I looked up at him to see the esper glaring at his former superior. Well good. That man deserves much more than just a glare for what he said.

"Itsuki Koizumi." The man said again. "You are a traitor. And you know how we deal with traitors."

Oh great, now he's spouting clichéd threats. Unfortunately, he looked well equipped to back them up.

"I'm going to drop you." Koizumi whispered in my ear. "Get ready."

_WHAT? _My gaze shot to the ground. We weren't dizzyingly high, but even so, a fall from this height would surely kill me. What was he—

And he dropped me.

I plummeted towards the hard asphalt below. Above me, I heard Koizumi shout _"R2!" _followed by a large explosion, but I didn't really have time to register what was going on before he scooped me back up mere feet from the ground.

"That was close." He said, rocketing in the direction of North High.

Close? _Close? _I was almost a smear on the sidewalk! Forget what I said before, I'm _not _over fear yet!

"Yeah, sorry." Koizumi apologized. "But I couldn't use that attack while I was holding you."

Speaking of which, what did he do? I looked up at where the other espers had been, only to see a huge amount of smoke with a bunch of crimson balls flying around erratically. This was starting to look more and more like a shonen anime.

"Caught them by surprise, that's all." The esper said. "They'll be back on our tail in just a second."

Koizumi suddenly halted in midair before he reluctantly lowered me down to the ground. What's going on now?

"We've reached the edge of the Closed Space."

Dang, we were still only about halfway up that accursed hill. I'm going to have to climb this hill until the day I die, aren't I? I feel like Sisyphus. "I guess we have to run the rest of the way?"

"No. You do." Koizumi said, landing.

What?

"The other espers will be right behind you. I'm going to stay back here and buy you some time."

You can't be serious. This isn't fiction! You don't need to make some sort of stupid 'heroic sacrifice.'

"Even without their powers, these people are all agents of the Organization. We can't risk them catching you." Koizumi smiled sadly. "Remember what I told you that one time? Nagato-san, Asahina-san and even myself can be replaced, but _you_… you cannot."

That familiar red orb surrounded him again. The Shinjin had already lost an arm and the other espers were coming our way. Koizumi, don't do this! You don't have to prove anything!

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "But I do. I want to prove to you that, despite all I've done these past few days, that the SOS Brigade is my top priority." He looked sadly at me but still kept smiling. "I had a lot of fun with you and the rest of the Brigade. I'll try to stay alive long enough for you to get Suzumiya-san to fix everything. Even with all her powers, I'm not sure how well she'd actually do when it comes to reviving a dead person."

_Koizumi!_

"Goodbye Kyon."

A hard shove from Koizumi later, I was assaulted by sounds of cars and the light from streetlamps and the stars in the sky. I was back in the regular world.

But that didn't matter. I just fell to my knees at the hopelessness of it all. Asahina-san wanted me dead, Nagato was gone, and Koizumi wouldn't last long against that group of espers either. Forget falling apart, the SOS Brigade had been _shattered. _I think this time I really had reached my limit. After everything that had happened, I just wanted to curl up in a ball and give up. Looking back to everything I'd experienced with the brigade, the murder mystery on the island, the endlessly repeating summer, the camel cricket… _nothing _could match the despair I felt right now. Would Haruhi even be at school this late? And even if she was, there was a good chance she wouldn't even believe the trump card. Or maybe she would be so furious I kept it from her all this time that she'd unmake the world or something. Unmake the world… that sounded almost nice at this point. Even my hopelessness in the alternate world didn't match my current loneliness. At least there, Asahina-san was still sweet, and Koizumi and Nagato were still alive.

Koizumi. Nagato.

They were counting on me. I couldn't just sit here moping in the middle of the street! I got to my feet and began walking briskly up the hill. As my pace increased, so did my resolve.

Nagato and Koizumi were willing to give up their lives because they believed in me. I couldn't just betray their trust like that! They'd both done so much for me that there was no way I would let their sacrifices go to waste.

At this point, I was sprinting up the hill. Haruhi _will _be there, and I'll _make _her believe I'm John Smith! Just you wait, Nagato. Soon you'll be back in the clubroom, reading your book like nothing even happened. You too, Koizumi. I'll challenge you to a game of backgammon after this. I think I've been getting pretty good at it.

_I'm going to get you back. I promise._

* * *

_Woah, this chapter has shaken things up quite nicely, hasn't it? Admittedly, it might be TOO busy, and maybe I should have put the scene with Nagato in the previous chapter. Either way, I'd like to hear your thoughts. At this current pace, the next chapter just might be the end, which actually would fit the current titling pattern just about perfectly. Speaking of the titling, am I the only one that noticed the character named in each chapter title is rarely the central figure of said chapter? I dunno, maybe I'm just over thinking it._

_Regardless, please review! I need them to live!_ :O


	5. The Revelation of Haruhi Suzumiya

_Aw, jeez. This took much longer than I wanted to get out, but with Christmas and work and everything, it was hard to find time to write. I also meant to respond to some of the reviews, but I never got around to that either. -_-; Regardless, I _do _appreciate your reviews and I thank everyone who have left their thoughts so far.__ I hope I was at least able to partially make up for the delay with the length of this chapter. This is the final one, so it's a doozy. I don't want to spoil anything, though, so I'll give my thoughts at the end. Until then, enjoy!_

* * *

The Revelation of Haruhi Suzumiya

Spurred onward by my promises to Nagato and Koizumi, I soon reached the top of the hill. It was odd seeing the school under these conditions. Sure, it hadn't physically changed, but the instant the building came into view I was assaulted by memories. There was the table where Koizumi first told me he was an esper, and there was the fence I hopped over after Nagato flung me back to Tanabata for the second time. Everywhere I looked, I couldn't help but be reminded fondly of my time with the SOS Brigade. Even the unpleasant events seemed desirable to me now. That was a simpler time. Sure, we still had to deal with Haruhi's weird schemes, but we were all _together_.

At this point, it occurred to me that I was still wearing my school shoes. After all, Nagato didn't really give me the option of getting my regular shoes out of my locker. God, had I really been here only yesterday?

As I hurriedly approached the Old Building, I saw something that made my heart leap: The light was on in the SOS Brigade clubroom. So Haruhi _was _here.

I did everything I could to control the sense of elation I was feeling, but even then, I couldn't help but laugh a little. Now wasn't the time to get careless. I still needed to make it to the clubroom without running into any espers or time travelers or humanoid interfaces.

Practically bursting into the building, I immediately started climbing the stairs while keeping my back to a wall as much as possible. I needed to get to Haruhi fast, but other lights had been on here too. That meant that there were other people here and likely other agents. But it was okay. I could see the clubroom door now. I'd be fine as long as I didn't run into any—

"Hello, Kyon-kun."

_Shit._

Emiri Kimidori had appeared on the scene, her long hair fluttering behind her in nonexistent wind as she bore an innocent look I couldn't help but compare to Asakura's.

"The Data Integration Thought Entity predicted you would return here." She espoused. "Unfortunately, I cannot allow you to do what you are planning."

Great, so Kimidori wasn't going to help me. Not that I was surprised, as she had always seemed loyal to her bosses. That said, she'd never struck me as crazy like Asakura had, so maybe I'd harbored some hope that she'd be willing to look the other way if she saw me. I guess I was wrong.

"I'm afraid you are going to die here." She said, both of her arms transforming into those glowing white blades that I'd seen both Nagato and Asakura possess in the past. I reached into my pocket and drew the alien gun.

"Bring it on, Kimidori." I'm totally all talk. How am I supposed to shoot her with this and expect to actually hit? Still, I'm too close to give up now. The clubroom door is less than ten feet away. If I can just find a way to get past Kimidori, then I'm home free. At that point, all I'll have to deal with is Haruhi herself. Okay, maybe "home free" is not quite the proper choice of words.

And just as I was preparing to get into a fight I was certain to lose, a miracle happened.

The clubroom door opened and Haruhi herself stepped out, wiping her eyes for some reason. Down the hall, I noticed Kimidori's hands return to normal. I smirked. Of course, there was no way her bosses would want her to reveal the masquerade in front of the one and only Haruhi Suzumiya.

Speaking of Haruhi, she was carrying her bookbag and had a set of keys in her hand. She must have gotten sick of waiting and was planning to lock the room up. Once she saw me, however, the bag and the keys fell to the ground.

"Kyon?" For a second, Haruhi looked about as overjoyed as I felt. That is to say, a lot. But then she quickly replaced the expression with one of anger. Uh oh. "Kyon! Where the hell have you been? Do you really think you can just skip a brigade meeting and take Mikuru-chan and Yuki with you? You'd better get ready for the worst penalty of your life!"

There had to be something wrong with me. Even with Haruhi's yelling, I couldn't help but feel happy that I had finally found her. It's totally like her disappearance all over again.

Still, there were more pressing matters to take care of. Namely one Emiri Kimidori.

"Suzumiya-san." Kimidori said quickly. "I hate to interrupt, but the Student Council President needs to speak with Kyon-kun immediately."

Haruhi immediately wheeled on Kimidori, apparently only just noticing her. "Hey! I've said it before and I'll say it again: if the Student Council wants to harass one of my subordinates, they're gonna have to go through me first. If he wants to talk to Kyon, I'm coming too."

Oh Haruhi, you're wonderful.

Kimidori actually twitched a little. Was she getting annoyed? Worried? Both? "He's not in trouble. The president just wants to talk to him about something."

Don't listen to her Haruhi! If you leave me alone with Kimidori, I hold no illusion that you'll ever see me again.

Haruhi looked at me like I was crazy. "Dramatic, much? And what's that thing you're holding?" _What? _She's calling _me _dramatic? "Don't you worry Kyon, I'm not gonna let you get expelled, even after that stupid stunt you pulled vanishing last night."

You've got to be kidding— wait, last night? How did you know—?

"Your parents called me wondering if I'd seen you." Haruhi answered. "I can't believe you'd make your sweet little sister worry like that!" Great, she's mad again.

Kimidori was obviously getting worried. After all, all I had to say was 'I am John Smith' and it would be over. So why haven't I said it yet? Well, I figured if I did Kimidori would have no more reason to keep pretending and would just kill me anyways. We had to get rid of her. "Haruhi, can I talk to you in the clubroom?"

"What? What's so important that you can't tell me here?"

"_Please, _Haruhi."

"Fine, fine."

As Haruhi turned back towards the door and I moved after her, Kimidori appeared in front of it, her usual demure look replaced by a defiant one. "Suzumiya-san. I must insist that Kyon come with me _now_."

"Wha—? When did you…h-hey!" Haruhi began before Kimidori grabbed Haruhi's arm in what I can only assume was a vice-like grip. "Wh-what are you doing?" Haruhi asked as she struggled in vain to break free. This wasn't good. It looked like Kimidori was starting to get desperate.

That's it. Time to end this now. I leveled the alien gun at Kimidori and pulled the trigger. I thought I saw uncertainty in her eyes before the bolt of electricity shot across the hall and struck her. I guess Kimidori was still worried about overtly revealing her powers to Haruhi. Either that or I managed to catch her off guard. Maybe she was just surprised that I had been willing to use the weapon in Haruhi's presence.

"_Woah!" _Haruhi shouted as Kimidori released her and crumpled to the floor. "Kyon… you… you _shot _her." She sounded a mix of horrified, disbelieving and impressed all at once.

Through the corner of my eye, I saw a bunch of movement outside one of the windows. Upon looking out of it, I saw a dozen or so suited men approaching the building. Looks like leaving isn't an option. That's fine. I just needed to buy some time.

"I can explain everything, but you're going to have to trust me." I explained quickly. "The first thing we need to do is get in the clubroom." I continued, grabbing Haruhi's keys up off the ground.

I half expected Haruhi to lecture me on "giving orders to the chief" and how it's tantamount to treason, but instead she just stood there, staring at me dumbly. I guess me shooting someone had left her speechless. Huh. I'm actually pretty impressed with myself right now.

Look, that shot isn't going to keep Kimidori down for long, and once it wears off, she's going to kill me. Please, just get in the clubroom!

"What are you talking about?" Haruhi finally managed to ask. "You just _shot _her with… with lightning or something." She still sounded like she couldn't believe it. "How is she supposed to get up from that?" She eyed Kimidori, who really looked like she was dead, her eyes staring up at nothingness.

"Because she's not human." I said quickly, making my way towards the clubroom on my own. Haruhi followed, if only because she was intrigued by what I had just said.

"Not human? Her? That's impossible." God, how can someone like her be such a skeptic when it all comes down to it?

Wake up, Haruhi! Everything you've been looking for, aliens, time travelers and espers, not only are they all real, but they've all been right here the whole time! You haven't realized it, but you're actually drawing them to you!

"You mean how Yuki, Mikuru-chan and Koizumi-kun are all paranormal too?" Haruhi asked sarcastically. "Are you still going on about that?" We were finally in the clubroom, where I quickly set about locking the door and barricading it as best I could. "And what are you _doing_? Ordering your brigade leader around like this? Who the hell do you think you are?" Well, she's back to normal.

"We don't have much time." I explained. I really wanted to just come right out and say it, but I also needed to make sure my trump card had the maximum weight. And _that _meant that it needed setting up. "You can yell at me, or penalize my as much as you want afterwards, but please hear me out."

"I'm listening." Haruhi said, folding her arms.

On Tanabata three years ago, you drew a bunch of alien symbols on your middle school quad, right?

"Yeah…" Haruhi responded, clearly failing to see where I was going with this. "So what? _Everyone _knows that."

Does everyone know what it says? Do they know you wrote _'I am right here?_' Do they know that you did it with another boy, one dressed in a North High uniform who showed up carrying another girl? A boy who talked to you about aliens, time travelers and espers? Oh, and sliders too, I guess.

Haruhi had uncrossed her arms and was staring at me with her eyes wide and her jaw agape. I was finally getting to her. "How… how could you possibly know that?" Then she leapt at me. "Who told you?" She demanded, grabbing my collar fiercely. "Have you met him too? Did _he _tell you?"

"Haruhi," I laughed a little. "No one told me anything. I knew about it because I _am _that boy. I'm John Smith." Even now, I couldn't believe that I was telling her this. It all just seemed so surreal, and this coming from the guy who'd encountered weird blue giants more than once before. She released my collar and stumbled backwards. We both just stood there for a few moments. This was such a momentous occasion that even the barricading felt like it could wait.

"But John was in North High when I was a middle schooler!" Haruhi protested. "You _can't _be him."

"That's because while that event was three years ago for you, it's only been about six months for me." Haruhi gaped at me. It actually felt kind of good to see her this speechless. "Last Tanabata, I traveled back in time and gave you a hand with that chalk drawing."

Haruhi's eyes lit up. "You're saying you're a _time traveler?"_

"Close." I began, returning to my barricading of the door. "That's actually Asahina-san. I was just along for the ride."

"Mikuru-chan? A time traveler?" Haruhi repeated in surprise. As she spoke, I attempted to move the bookcase in front of the door, but it was far too heavy for me to move. Was I really going to have to entrust my fate to a simple locked door and a table? "Wait a minute… you told me that once before!"

That's right. She's a time traveler, Nagato's an alien, and Koizumi's an esper. You didn't believe me back then, but I thought you might listen to me now.

"You're saying aliens, time travelers and espers were here under my nose the entire time?" Haruhi surmised, motionless. "But… there's no way it could be that easy!"

Ah yes, that old argument. I turned my full attention to her. Maybe she'd believed I was John Smith, but _here _was the real moment of truth. "The reason behind that is because you're not exactly normal yourself."

At that moment, the door handle rattled furiously for a moment before someone started pounding on the other side. "Is there a Haruhi Suzumiya in there?" Came a deep voice.

"What do you want?" Haruhi snapped. "I'm a little busy in here!"

"We're looking for a boy who goes by 'Kyon,'" The voice explained. "He has recently suffered a complete mental breakdown and is experiencing delusions of grandeur."

Damn it! Don't listen to him, Haruhi! Crap, Haruhi looked like she was starting to have doubts. I had to press on before I lost this chance. Haruhi, you said you wanted to find aliens, time travelers and espers and they just _happened _to show up in your club. Don't you find that a little odd?

"Of _course _I do!" Haruhi replied. "Hence the whole 'too easy' thing."

Well what if it wasn't just a coincidence? What if you subconsciously had the power to reshape to world to match your desires?

Haruhi snorted. "If I had that power, then you'd have… uh, I mean… things would be a lot different."

But that's the thing! Although you try to hide it, you've actually got an inner skeptic that is policing the power you hold. It's keeping you from fully realizing what you can do!

"Wait, you're _serious_ about this?"

Haruhi, your inner skeptic is really starting to bug me.

More pounding on the door. "You need to be careful, Suzumiya-san! That boy doesn't know what he's talking about! He could snap at any minute."

Ignoring the man, I kept going. In a less rushed situation, I would have told Haruhi everything, but in this case I had to settle for the abridged script. I told Haruhi all about her powers, and about the different explanations Koizumi, Nagato, and Asahina (yes, I'm trying to break the habit of calling her Asahina-san. It doesn't really fit with the whole trying to kill us thing) gave. I told her about the Data Integration Thought Entity and the way it was pressuring Koizumi's Organization into trying to kill me. Finally, I told her what actually happened to Koizumi and Nagato. There was a lot I had to leave out there, but the pounding on the door was growing stronger, and there seemed to be much more people there now. I doubted it would hold for long.

Haruhi. You have to change everything back. You're the only one who can.

"You're saying I have powers…" Haruhi said, staring at her hands. "That I'm _God_?"

Actually, that was only Koizumi's worst case scenario. All we know for sure is that you're able to alter reality.

"And you kept this from me?" Haruhi continued, sounding both mad and hurt. "My entire life, I've just wanted to find paranormal beings, to not be normal, and you _kept _it from me?"

Hey, I tried to tell you once before, but you didn't believe me, remember?

"Well what about them?" Haruhi countered. "What about the rest of the brigade? They lied to me too! Why should I help them?"

Because they're our _friends!_

"Friends don't lie to one another!"

Really? The girl who considered the brigade members "toys" was lecturing me on friendship? "They didn't have a choice. Their respective bosses all ordered them to keep quiet about it."

"That didn't stop them from protecting you."

That's because that was the first time they were actually ordered to harm another member of the brigade. They were ordered to kill me, Haruhi. If you don't save them, then that will mean they died because of _me. _I might look apathetic sometimes, but I can't have that on my conscience. I trust them. Can't you please trust me?

Haruhi took a breath. "Okay, I'll give it a shot. But don't think we're not gonna discuss this later once everyone is back."

Fine, whatever. I just want this nightmare to end!

Haruhi closed her eyes and concentrated. Meanwhile, I couldn't help but get increasingly more worried as the clubroom door was finally kicked off its hinges and the world still failed to change back. Now all that was standing in the way of the Organization was a measly table. What's the hold up, Haruhi?

"I'm doing my best." Haruhi grunted. "In case you've forgotten, I've never actually done this before."

Any second now, I was expecting the world to start changing, but it didn't happen. The agents were getting closer as well. I could see at least five of them through the doorway, and I thought I caught a glimpse of Kimidori in the hall. If they managed to take me away, I was going to die.

With that thought in mind, I fired the alien pistol through a crack in the doorway. One of the men in suits fell, but another sprang up from out of sight to take is place. And were those tasers in their hands? Damn it! I couldn't hold them off for long. We needed more time.

I cast my eyes around the clubroom looking for anything useful. Laptops? No. Frog costume? No. Bamboo plant? No— Wait. Behind the plant was the window (which, interestingly enough, seemed to have reappeared since Nagato last made the glass vanish). Unable to believe what I was doing, I flung the window open and climbed onto the sill.

"Kyon?" Haruhi said, opening her eyes. "What are you doing now?"

We need more time. Follow me.

"Where? Onto the _roof_?"

Yeah, basically.

"Don't listen to him, Suzumiya-san!" One of the men called from behind the table. They were almost inside. "That boy does not understand the danger he is putting you two in!"

"Shut it." I replied, shooting off another bolt of lightning from my wonderful Checkov's Gun. "_Take care of the John Smith who would shake up the world, _remember?_" _I said, holding out my hand to Haruhi. "It's now or never."

Hesitating only for a second, Haruhi grabbed my hand and we climbed onto the roof. As we climbed, I heard the sound of many men storming the clubroom. My shoddy barricade had finally fallen.

Come on, Haruhi! You've got to change the world back!

"I'm trying!" Haruhi yelled, bringing her hands to her head. "This is all so crazy… how am I supposed to know how this works?"

I don't know? Trust your feelings?

"Great advice." Haruhi said sarcastically. "Any real suggestions?"

Uh… uh… _Wait! _You've almost remade the world before! Try to focus on that feeling!

"_What _feeling?"

Remember that day you came to school with your hair in a ponytail? You said you had a nightmare the night before that.

Haruhi's eyes widened again. Clearly, she's getting better at figuring out where I'm going with stuff. Careful, Haruhi. At this rate your eyes might just pop out of your head "Are you saying what I think you are?"

You were trapped at North High with me and a bunch of blue giants, right? There was a giant shade over the entire area too. Hell, it looked kinda like things do right now.

"That was… real?" Haruhi said, staring directly at me. "But that means that you and I…"

Oh right, I'd almost forgotten about that. Okay, that's a lie. It actually was a really memorable experience.

"Hold it!" Shouted one of the Organization members who had now climbed onto the roof. "Kyon, we're here to help you. Just come quietly and you can receive treatment."

Wait… that was the man who called Koizumi a traitor back in the Closed Space. Did that mean that Koizumi…? He was putting on a concerned look, but I could tell it was a mask just like the boy's. I'll never go with you! Not after what you did to Koizumi!

"Then I'm afraid there's nothing else to be done then." He said, leveling a taser gun at me. I aimed the alien weapon in his direction, but he'd already pulled the trigger. I felt the darts embed themselves in my side and I felt a sudden surge of pain. It was different then being stabbed, but that didn't change the fact that it hurt like hell. I couldn't control my body as it went limp and I toppled down.

"_Kyon!_" I heard Haruhi shout, but I couldn't register more than that. I felt multiple pairs of hands grab me, and I realized dimly that more agents must have made their way to the roof. I couldn't think of much else, however, as the man with the taser kept sending regular jolts of electricity into my body. Damn him… I bet he was enjoying this.

"Don't you worry, Kyon. This is for your own good." The man said loudly. Then, he whispered into my ear, "I hope you're ready to join Itsuki Koizumi and that interface friend of yours."

_No…_

"Leave. Him. _Alone." _Came a voice that sounded both familiar and alien at the same time. The electricity stopped and I turned towards the source of the voice. It was none other than Haruhi. Something was different about her, though. Her fists were clenched and there was wind swirling all around her as dark clouds formed in the sky. Oh gods. Should I be relieved or worried? Well, since Koizumi's superior was repeatedly clicking the trigger of the taser and I wasn't feeling any pain, I'm gonna say relieved.

Now that I was no longer in blinding pain, I could get a better view of my surroundings. A good half dozen members of the Organization had made their way to the roof, two of which were still holding me. In the center of the roof stood Haruhi who looked more pissed than I'd ever seen her.

"S-Suzumiya-san!" Shouted one of the agents, this one a younger man. "Don't worry. This boy will be fine once he receives treatment for his delusions…"

"_Shut the hell up." _Haruhi replied, her voice somehow echoing and clearly audible above the howling wind. _"I trust him, which is more then I can say for the rest of you."_

The espers seemed paralyzed by fear. Made sense, if you ask me. From what I've seen, some of them actually consider Haruhi their deity. And now that her wrath was pointed in their direction… well, I wouldn't want to be in their shoes.

Breaking free from the two men who apparently forgot they were actually supposed to be holding me, I sprinted back towards Haruhi. The way things were looking now, she was definitely the preferable one. Besides, I had a hunch about exactly how I could make her remember how she felt the last time she used her powers on a global scale.

Too bad things are never that easy when Haruhi is involved. As I ran in her direction, I heard Koizumi's superior declare "If I'm going to get killed for this, I'm not going down without a fight!" And then I heard a loud bang. For a split-second I thought it might be thunder from the clouds Haruhi had apparently summoned, but an incredible pain in my lower back revealed otherwise.

The bastard _shot _me.

As I fell face forward, I heard Haruhi gasp, and then scream. Even in my current state, her wail sent a chill down my spine. I'd never heard Haruhi that enraged. _No… with her power… _Although I couldn't see what was going on, I felt a huge rush of wind shoot past me, and the agents let out frightened yells. Despite it causing me great pain, I was able to move my head just enough to catch sight of a few of the men. The were all floating in the air as if tied to invisible marionette strings as Haruhi shouted. "_I'm going to kill you bastards!" _The ground started to shake as thunderbolts cackled in the background.

Haruhi, no… if you lose control of your power, you may accidentally destroy the world!

"_Who cares? They're gonna pay what they did to you!"_

Don't do it, Haruhi… You're not a killer… Don't let these men turn you into one!

"_Shut up, Kyon! Don't you dare question your leader!" _As she yelled, a giant shock wave struck me and sent me tumbling across the roof, which wouldn't have been pleasant if I'd been in perfect condition. With my bullet wound… well let's just say the 'most painful moment of my life' probably was no longer on December 18th. I guess she noticed, because the winds started to die down. "Wait, I… I didn't mean to…"

I'm not quite sure what happened after that. I heard the members of the Organization let out loud yells, but it sounded more like Haruhi had dropped them instead of killing them. All I knew for sure was that Haruhi was now kneeling near me and cradling my head in her arms.

"Kyon, I'm so sorry." Haruhi said. Unless I'm mistaken, she might have been crying. "I never meant to get you hurt…"

Ch-change it back… Change the world back, Haruhi.

"I already told you, I don't know how!" Haruhi shouted in exasperation. "Picking a couple of people up is a little different than changing everything! Here, m-maybe I can heal you or something." She tried to turn me over in what I assume was an attempt to get at the bullet wound, but I didn't let her.

There's… no time. Kimidori could be up here any second. You have to remember how you felt the last time you almost changed everything.

"I…I thought it was a dream all this time." Haruhi said, at a loss for what to do. Man, I sure miss the confident Haruhi.

"If… you don't… remember," I said, fighting the pain and struggling to remain conscious. "Then maybe I can remind you." I put my hand on the back of her head and brought it down towards mine. As our lips met for the second time in our young lives, I noted how soft hers were. Once again, I closed my eyes, and to my surprise, I felt her kissing me back this time. I remained conscious as long as I could, but very soon I blacked out.

* * *

I woke to find myself laying on my bedroom floor, in my pajamas and everything. This sure seemed familiar. At least I didn't seem to have a bullet wound in my back anymore.

"Kyon-kun!" My sister shouted, bursting through the door. "Get u—Oh, you're already up." She pouted, disappointed that she wouldn't get to drag me out of bed this morning, but she made do by grabbing Shamisen off of my bed. "Come on, Shami, time for breakfast."

"Wait a second." I said, stopping her. I needed to confirm something. "Weren't you worried about me? Wondering where I was?"

She gave me a look that said "Is your head alright, big brother?" She cocked her head to the side and asked "What do you mean? You haven't gone anywhere, have you?"

"No, I guess not." I said with a smile. It might finally be over. Still, I needed to be sure. As she left, I searched all over for my cell phone so I could give Nagato or Koizumi a call, but it was nowhere to be found. Instead, I stumbled across my school shoes, jammed into my closet for some reason. Interestingly, I was missing one of the ties for my school uniform as well. Getting dressed with the tie from my spare uniform, I left for school as soon as possible. These clues were good indicators that Haruhi might have succeeded, but I wouldn't be satisfied until I knew for sure.

I bolted from my door, only to run smack dab into a young woman. Oh great. Just when I thought this was over, there was the older Mikuru Asahina smiling sweetly at me. Oh no. In my attempts to block out the trauma, I'd neglected to tell Haruhi about her betrayal, hadn't I?

Sorry Asahina, but I've dealt with Ryoko Asakura. That smile isn't fooling anyone. I reached into my pocket but was dismayed to see that my alien gun was missing. Damn it… could I really bring myself to fight Mikuru Asahina? And would it even do any good? She _is _a time traveller.

"It's okay, Kyon-kun." She said. Although she was smiling, her eyes looked sad. "I'm not going to hurt you."

As much as I would love to believe that, I'm not really in the habit of trusting people who try to shoot me.

"What about Koizumi-kun?"

Crap, you've got me there. I really did want to believe that Asahina wasn't actually trying to kill us, but after all this, I wasn't going to let my guard down for some sweet words, even if they came from her beautiful lips…

_Stop it! She tried to kill you, remember?_

It's true. Despite her excellent looks, I couldn't help but find Asahina naturally untrustworthy now, just like what had happened with Asakura. "So, you gonna kill me now or what? Cause I can bet Haruhi wouldn't take too kindly to that." That is, assuming she didn't just chalk last night up to a dream like before…

"I never said anything about killing you." Asahina replied, beginning to walk in the direction of the school and motioning to walk with her. A few days ago, I would have jumped at the chance, but I made sure to keep my distance this time. "All I said was that I had to ensure a predetermined even would occur. That event was you and Koizumi-kun fleeing into the Closed Space. Didn't you find it odd that we left you alone after all that? We're time travelers, after all. We knew everything you would do."

Then what was the reason for trying to shoot me? You could have just _told _us this.

She looked away. "I wish I could have, but you know I can't do that. That sort of information is classified.

Right. _Classified Information. _I hate that stuff.

"Besides," She continued. "As painful as it was, everything that happened with Nagato-san, Koizumi-kun and myself are what gave you the resolve necessary to successfully use your trump-card on Suzumiya-san."

I grimaced. She had a point there, but I didn't like it. Were all time travelers this manipulative? As beautiful as she was, I didn't know if I could trust the older Asahina after all this. Still, I had to ask, "Does that mean that there may be a time in the future where the 'predetermined event' _will_ be my death?"

"That's classified…"

"And if you _were _ordered to kill me or someone else from the brigade, would you do it?"

"I… I don't know." She answered. The way she was acting, she actually struck me as being more like her younger self.

"Then until you give me a real answer, I don't think I can trust you any more." Having to say it felt like I was ripping my heart out, but I couldn't allow myself to be blinded by her beauty any more. I could only trust her if she proved herself trustworthy. With that, I passed her and made my way to school alone. If she was going to kill me this time, she would have done so already. Besides, I had to make sure my _other _friends were alright.

"I never wanted to hurt you." Mikuru said softly from behind me. I grunted, refusing to look at her lest my resolve falter. "Please don't hold it against the younger me. I don't think she could bear it."

Don't you worry. I don't blame her. I've never liked how you can keep your past self in the dark like you do and regardless of who she may grow up to be in the future, I believe she is innocent now.

"I understand." She said quietly. "Then this is goodbye for now. I will see you in the future."

I don't doubt that.

She said nothing else, and I couldn't help but glance back. Mikuru Asahina had vanished, probably back to her own time. My heart hurt from the encounter, but there were more important things to take care of. Turning back towards the school, I began to ascend the hill. I walked briskly, but I didn't run this time. As much as I wanted to see everyone, I couldn't quite bring myself to run this thing again so soon. Besides, a small part of me was worried about what I might find. I had just let _Haruhi _redesign the world. Would she really stick to what I asked of her? Or worse, what if she made a mistake? Maybe the entire school would be an SOS Brigade headquarters, or Asakura could be back _again. _Or worse, what if Haruhi herself was gone? I passed by Kouyouen High. Could I really go through the horrible experience of her vanishment again? And what if, combined with that, one of my other previously mentioned possibilities were to occur as well? How would I fix _that_?

At this point, I'd reached the spot where Koizumi had pushed me out of the Closed Space. This was where I made my promise to him and Nagato. That's right. No matter what may have happened, I made a promise to them. If I hadn't managed to keep it, then I'd just have to find another way.

It wasn't much longer before I reached North High School. Good, the building seemed intact and there were plenty of familiar students milling around. I stopped by my shoe locker before realizing it was pointless. After all, I was kind of _wearing _my school shoes. As expected, my regular sneakers were located inside. I closed it with a sigh. Despite my rush getting here, I didn't have long before class started. Just who should I look for first…?

"Kyon-kun?" Said a voice behind me. It was soft, but even in the crowded room, I recognized it immediately.

Mikuru Asahina. Only this time it was the younger one. And she looked just about ready to cry. Asahina-san, it's good to see you—

"Kyon-kun!" She shouted, throwing her arms around me. "I… I never thought I would see you again!" She sniffled.

Asahina-san, I'm all for hugs, especially from you, but such a public display of affection is likely making me Public Enemy Number One of the entire male student body.

"Oh, s-sorry!" She yelped, releasing me. "It's… It's just my superiors didn't tell me I'd be coming back. I really thought I was leaving forever." To her credit, despite Asahina-san's obvious distress, she was keeping her voice low enough so as to avoid any eavesdroppers. Still, there were a couple of people watching from a distance, and they probably wanted to kill me.

Heh, join the club.

"Asahina-san." I said quietly, motioning her towards a less crowded hallway. "About your superiors, I actually have a question."

She looked nervous about that. "I-I'll answer it as best as I can, but a lot of that information is classified…"

That's okay, just do your best. I know you obeyed them when they told you to leave, but if your superiors ever made an order that could really hurt me or the others, would you follow it?

Asahina-san averted her eyes. I knew it, I was going to get the same answer as before. This was a waste of time…

"I don't think I'd really have much choice in the matter, because of classified information… um, I mean… well, you see what I mean, right?"

I did. If her superiors were able to manipulate her mind into preventing her from revealing information they deemed to be classified, they could potentially control her in other ways. Damn those time travelers! Maybe I was too hard on the older Asahina. Of course, for all I know _she _could be the one behind everything… Ugh, my brain hurts. Whatever. I need to get to class and see if anything's changed.

"Kyon-kun!" Asahina-san called after me. I turned back to her. She actually looked surprisingly determined. "Even if I wouldn't actually be able to do much… if I ever got an order like that, I would do everything I could to stop it!"

Hmm… I didn't get the impression that she was lying. Maybe I should give her older self another chance. Either way, I trusted _this _Asahina-san, which I guess is all that matters right now.

I didn't have long to consider it, however, as at that point I had to sprint to class. I made it, though, and Haruhi was sitting in her seat looking bored as usual. Wait… did that mean…?

"Hey Haruhi," I said, sitting down in my seat. Okabe-sensei must have been late today, so I had a bit of time to talk to her. "What's up?"

"Nothing really." She answered. "I had a really weird dream last night."

Really? _Had things really worked out the same way as last time? _This might just be too good to be true! "What, uh, what was it about?"

Haruhi looked at me oddly. "Kyon, have you ever kissed a girl before?"

Normally I might consider this one of her usual non-sequiters, but this time it seemed surprisingly relevant. Still, I was caught off guard and and ended up giving her a straight answer. "Yeah, I've kissed this one girl a couple times." Looking back, I probably should have lied. Oh well, Haruhi still seemed to buy that it was a dream. As long as I didn't outright tell her, she probably couldn't really figure it out for sure. And that inner skeptic of hers would probably give me a hand as well.

"Right." Haruhi said, feigning disinterest. "Just wondering."

* * *

"So Suzumiya-san believes it all to be a dream?" Koizumi summarized with an interested look. "Then it seems we got lucky once again, although we're probably going to need to be a lot more careful around her from now on."

Just as I'd hoped, Koizumi was alive and well. I'd ducked out of the classroom during lunchtime whereupon I bumped into the esper. Clearly he'd had the same idea as me. Now we were sitting at that familiar table on the grounds and discussing everything that had happened.

So… I hate to ask it, but what's dying like?

Koizumi chuckled. "Oh, the Organization didn't kill me. They managed to get the jump on me and they captured me, but they didn't finish me off at that time." He took a sip of the coffee he'd brought with him. "I assume they wanted to either interrogate me or possibly use me for leverage over you, but it looks like things worked out before that could happen."

So I guess we still don't know if Haruhi can actually bring people back from the dead, do we?

The esper shrugged. "No, I guess not. Still, I'm not complaining."

Makes sense. I've gotten close enough to death to know it's no picnic. Of course, it would be interesting to know what it felt like to go the whole way.

Koizumi smiled. "Maybe so, but I'd rather not be the one to find out."

So you mentioned the Organization earlier. They still exist?

He nodded. "Yes."

So are they pissed that you betrayed them and everything?

Koizumi shrugged again. "I'm not sure they remember. If they do, they haven't said anything to me about it."

But it's possible that they _do_, right?

He looked grave for a moment before standing. Lunch was almost over so we'd have to return to our classes. Damn, I'd really wanted to try and find Nagato this break, but our conversation ran long. "Yes, it is possible. Yet another thing we'll have to keep an eye on."

Great. Even when I have Haruhi fix the world, things still manage to get more complicated?

"It looks that way." Koizumi said with a grin. "But you know, as long as I'm with you guys I don't think I would have it any other way."

Hey Koizumi, that's just about the most honest I've ever seen you.

He chuckled again. "Well I decided that I needed to work on that." He turned to go. "I'm just glad things worked out."

"Hey Koizumi." I said, and he turned. "Thanks… thanks for everything."

Koizumi's grin widened. "I'm pretty sure that's the first honest thanks I've ever received from you."

"Well, I've decided I needed to work on that."

Koizumi laughed and waved over his shoulder as he left. Yeah, I know that was sappy and uncomfortable. Shut up. I thanked Nagato, it's only fitting I do the same for Koizumi when he was willing to make the same sacrifice she did.

* * *

The rest of the day passed agonizingly slowly. Haruhi remained pretty quiet and the instant the bell rang I sprinted from my seat towards the clubroom. Haruhi was probably perplexed by my sudden interest in club activities, but I didn't l pay her much heed. Koizumi and Asahina-san were okay, but there still was one more person unaccounted for.

After bursting into the clubroom (at my pace, I was certain that I'd beaten Asahina-san there), I was greeted by one of the most comforting sights I'd seen in a while.

The clubroom was exactly the way it had been before this whole thing started. The window was intact and there was no sign of my makeshift barricade. The door was even still on its hinges. But best of all was the small girl sitting in the corner reading a book.

She mechanically turned her head to face me, but she stood the instant we made eye contact.

Nagato… you're okay!

She nodded and set her book on the table, giving me her undivided attention while I approached her. I glanced at the title. _A Romance of Two Worlds._ Huh.

Despite how happy I was to see Nagato safe and sound, I found it difficult to find the words to express it. Instead, we just stood there for a few moments in silence. Before me was the girl who had started all of this. The one who had put her life on the line and gone against her very programming in order to protect me. Sure, I was grateful for all Koizumi (and even Asahina-san, to a certain extent) did, but that didn't change the fact that Nagato was the one who set everything into motion, She was the one who refused to leave my side and was only thinking about protecting me. I'm not sure I could really express my gratitude in words.

I guess simple is the best way to go. "I'm so glad to see again."

"I am… glad as well. It was uncertain whether I would have the opportunity to return, or whether I would do so in my current form. Those possibilities considered, this was the most desirable outcome."

Hey, I promised you, didn't I?

She nodded. "Despite probability, I chose to anticipate this outcome above all of the others. Still, there were unknown variables that meant I could not account for it with full certainty."

Good old Nagato, with your barely understandable explanations. But you're saying you did everything you could to trust me, despite what the Data Integrated Thought Entity might have told you?"

"I previously stated that I would bet everything on you." Nagato continued. "I have never abandoned that belief."

So, speaking of the Entity, is it still around?

She shook her head. "According to my data, the Data Integrated Thought Entity no longer exists in this galaxy, and possibly this universe, although that will require more investigation."

What about its interfaces? Like Emiri Kimidori for example?

"A number of humanoid interfaces still exist in this world. However without any connection to the Data Integrated Thought Entity, it is unknown whether they will remain hostile."

Well we'll see, I guess. Their fates are in their hands now that they don't have anything ordering them around. For once they can decide what they want from their lives.

"Yes." Nagato said softly before doing something I never expected from her.

She hugged me.

Yes, it wasn't the most natural hug, as the girl was clearly inexperienced (she wrapped both her arms around both the middle of my torso and my arms as well). I couldn't really hug her back from this position, but my mind was focusing more on the action itself anyways. "Nagato… you're hugging me."

She released me and backed up. "I analyzed all available data on social interactions and determined that it was appropriate." She stared straight into my eyes. "Was I incorrect?" She asked, sounding almost nervous.

"No, no you weren't." I replied, giving her a hug of my own. This time I did feel her hands on my back.

"Thank you, Kyon." She said. I guess she was getting more in the habit of using my name… or my nickname at least.

"Thank _you_, Yuki." I replied.

And then the door opened as Asahina-san and Koizumi stepped through the threshold.

"Oh, are we interrupting something?" Koizumi asked, grinning like usual while Asahina-san looked shocked and confused.

On another day, I might feel embarrassed, or want to punch Koizumi or something, but right now I was just happy that we were all alive and together again.

Strangely, Haruhi was late to the clubroom that day. It wasn't long before Asahina-san was in her maid costume making us tea while Nagato read in the corner and Koizumi and I were engaged in a game of backgammon.

Everything was back to normal. Well, comparatively, anyway. And you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way either.

Eventually Haruhi did show up, practically kicking the door down as always. "Hey everyone! Sorry I'm late, but we have some important things to discuss now that I'm here!"

Ah yes, the sentai team, right? After all this, that actually was starting to sound pretty fun.

"Close, but no cigar, John." Haruhi replied.

"Okay, then wha…" I began, before I realized what she'd said. _Wait… she didn't… did she?_ I heard a teacup shatter on the floor. Asahina-san looked terrified and Koizumi's mouth was still smiling, but his eyes certainly weren't. Even Nagato had looked up from her book, her eyes appearing to be even wider than usual. The entire brigade was now staring intently at both Haruhi and myself as if waiting for one of us to do something.

"What, you didn't think I was going to fall for that stupid 'it was just a dream' schtick again, did you?" Haruhi said with a mischievous smile. "Now what's this I hear about being me being God?"

Okay, screw what I said before. As I looked from Koizumi to Asahina-san to Nagato and back to Haruhi, I reflected that things were going to be different from now on.

_Very _different.

The End

* * *

_Well, there it is! The post-kiss epilogue might have dragged a little bit_, _but I wanted to evoke the style of the light novels. Plus, there were a lot of subplots that needed closure. This was actually a pretty big step for me, as I almost always try to make my fanfics fit into the chronology of the series I'm writing for. Oh well, it was nice to shake up the status quo if you ask me. _

_That said, I really wish I could have included more Haruhi and Mikuru in this thing, but much of the story didn't allow it. Plus, is it just me or is it _really hard _to write Haruhi accurately? That girl is crazy! I mean, writing in Tanigawa's style is hard enough on its own, but once you throw Suzumiya in there everything gets tougher. Oh well, there were a couple loose ends, so maybe I'll write a sequel at some point. I don't have any plans for that at the moment, though._

_I'd really like to know what you thought! If you enjoyed my first non-short-story foray into the Haruhi fandom, I'd love to hear it. Or, if you thought there's stuff I should work on for the future, tell me that too. I could go on all day about how much I love reviews, but I doubt you'd enjoy reading that so I'm only going to ask one more time: please review!_

_And now, in the words of the great Ferris Bueller: "_You're still here? It's over! Go home."


End file.
